It's summer time, which means between the time when school ends and summer jobs start, there is absolutely nothing to do other than lying around wondering what to do with your life. For the regular college students, this means starting or catching up with a new TV show, Asian drama, or anime. Of course, no one would like to admit that their summers started out this way, and there are many stages that one goes through in this time period.
1. Scouting out new shows "just for giggles"
You're not actually going to start that new show that's already 5 seasons in, you tell yourself. But it's still fun to watch clips of specific dramas just to dip your feet in a little since there couldn't possibly be any harm in doing that, right?
2. Tentatively watching the first episode
On occasion, you start watching the first few minutes of the first episode of the show you're scouting out. First few minutes in, you're confident that it would just be another drama full of terrible acting and cliche moments. There's absolutely no way you could ever become addicted to something as bad as this. The plot is cheesy, and it's just another poor girl - rich boy school situation. Boring.
3. Becoming attached to the characters
Half an hour into the first episode, you find yourself rooting for one of the side characters already. How did that happen?? The plot is still cheesy and the acting is mediocre at best, but you just wish that the side character could earn a happy ending just as fulfilling as the main character definitely will. You're tempted to watch on just for this character and monitor their development throughout the series.
4. Realizing too late that you're hooked
Somehow, the next time your eyes leave the computer screen, you're 6 episodes in already and you've been sitting in your bed for 5 hours without doing anything else. The main characters are already going through hardships, and despite the crappy acting and terrible mother-in-law, you can't stop yourself from clicking onto the next episode as soon as the previous one ends. You're too far in, and it's too late to stop.
5. Allowing the show to take over your life
Day 2 of watching the drama and you're already 10 episodes in. You now know the histories and backgrounds of every single relevant character by heart and you're shipping the main character with the side love interest. You're glad there's no other chore to do because you won't be doing anything else for the next 2 days.
6. Hitting some filler episodes and contemplating your life decisions
Do you skip over the filler episodes? What if something important happens in these episodes? Do you still have the motivation to continue the show? At this stage, you either power through and finish the drama, or you stop watching and never finish for the rest of your life. This stage will consist of a lot of skipping and irritation as an irrelevant character finally gets their time to shine.
7. Finishing the show
The moment you get through a show (which realistically would probably be a week later at most), you will once again, feel empty on the inside and wonder what to do with your life. There are still probably tears remaining from the last few episodes and a half empty bag of chips next to you. You will definitely spend the next few nights in restless fits wondering about how the plot could have gone differently. You will also vow to never binge watch a show ever again, only to restart the cycle in the next month.
